1-632-417 - Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images

HMS 'Agamemnon' laying the original Atlantic telegraph cable, 1857 (1866). HMS 'Agamemnon' was the first warship to be built with screw propulsion. After being converted she was involved in the first attempts to lay the transatlantic telegraph cable in 1857-1858. The third attempt succeeded but the cable only remained operational for a few weeks before its insulation deteriorated. The cable would not be permanently established until the 'Great Eastern' accomplished the task in 1866. From The Atlantic Telegraph by William Howard Russell, published 1866.